Improvement in the manufacture of paper from sorghum



'UNITEDy STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY EMBERTON, 0F EAST'TARENTUM, PENNSYLVANIA.

lMPRVEMENT iN THE MNUFACTURE 0F PAPER FROM SGRGHUM.

vSpeciiicntiou forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,059, dated March 31, 1863; autedatcd october i, 1ste.

The orticle which l use es substitute fory linen und cotton regs in the manufacture of the better qualities of paper is the stalk of the Sorge sucre, cr Chinese snger-cane,in any of its varieties, after the j nice und seccherine mnt-V ter here been expressed.- i

. in order to enable others skilled in the art to merke usen-tney improvement iu' the muuu-V iucture ci peper, I will proceed to describe particularly the process which I' employ.

Alter the stellte of the Chinese 'sugar-cane have been parassiti'v through the crushing-rollers to extract the juice they arewashed in waterv to rid them ci the remaining saccharine end soluble-matters.. Where the' cune is grown solely 'crthemennfacture of peper and not forthe production of molasses it may be used y before itis ripe, audlthus two or three crops l be gathered in one season. In this case the stalks, after being crushed through rollers, are then wash-ed to rid them of their juice and watery partielle. The crushed-stalks are then placed in an open rat containing a solution of caustic sode in water of the strength ot' about teu per cent. 'of caustic sodo, and boiled in this solution. The object of boiling the stalks in this cunsticv liquor is to om the silica,

`oily matters and coloriiigmatt er, and to open and separate the ii ers, thus rendering them more snsceptioieto thcfnctiou of the chemical with which they ure subsequentlytreuted. This boiling is continued from eight -to ten hours, orv until the desired separation of the ber is'produced. The. stalks are then ref moved from the caustic liquor in which they were boiled, end Washed inv water'until the sode'. is all removed. The stalks are then 'washed iu very dilute sulphuric or muriatic acid, the Water being only slightly acidulated. This ei'ects c removal of a. further portion of solubie und coloring; mettere. The fibrous mees resulting from this treatment is again washed Y with water until free from scid, and is then immersed in a solution of chloride of lime in water ofthe density of from 10 to 3 of Beaums hydrometer. This immersionis contiuued for about twenty-four hours until the color of the pulp is chaugedfrom a yellowish tinge to aperfect white. The pulp is now again washed in pure water until the odor of chlorine is completely removed, audit is then Washed4 in slightly-acidnlated water of the same strength as before used, and then again with pure water until the acid is removed..

The effect of these operations is to reduce the crushed stalks toeperfectly-whitehomogeuous muss, the knots, as well as all other parte of the cane, being completelyconverted into white pulp, und reduced tothe condition ot' what is' technically called half-stud, having entirely lost all form 'and structure of the cane, and heilig reduced to u white fibrous mass of pulp. This mass is now ready to be still further reduced bythe ordinarymechanical means to un extremely line pulp, and is then manufactured into paper in the ordinary manner.

Paper manufactured from this pulp is of a stronger texture than that made from cotton rags, the fiber resembling that of pulp made from dax, which is always employed for the best qualities of paper, and thus this article forms uperfectsubstitute for linen .rags-'ill the manufacture of peper, not requiring the admixture of auycottonor linen, as do strurr `undl the other'substitutes now in use, and prog dnciuga most superior quality of paper.

Another'great advantage in the use of this farticle for the mnufacture -of pulp is that a much less degree of? mechanical power is Yrequired, as the pulp-.ifs brought to the stato of half-stuit' solely by theaction of the chemi cal agents employed iu the process hereinbefore described. n i

The great value' of this article as a substitute for linen and cotton rags in the msnm facture of paper is the unlimited supply-which muy be obtained, while -the supply of straw and other partial, substitutes is so extremelylimited that it is very dimcult to procure a .sudicieut quantity to moet the demand.'

What `I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The manufacture of pulp from the stalks of the Sorgo sucre, or Chinese su gar-cane, as a' sbstitute for linen and cotton ragsvbn the manufacture of white or the better qualities of paper, in tim manner'subsfantiahy as herenbefore described.

In testimony whereof I have vhereunto set my hand this 27th day ot'Octobexj, A. 1857'v W i t messes ISAAC HUFF,

W. BAKEWELL.

HENRY PEMBERTON. 

